Tag Archives: sauvignon blanc

Wine of the week: Pavette Sauvignon Blanc 2022

Pavette Sauvignon Blanc bottle
Pavette Sauvignon Blanc 2022/$10-$15

Yes, a California wine that meets the blog’s criteria for quality and value

These days, save for a couple of one-offs, about the only California brand that meets the blog’s criteria for quality and value is Hall of Fame label McManis. So you can imagine my excitement as I tasted this version of the Pavette.

That’s because this was the second vintage of the sauvignon blanc that tasted — dare I say it? — like California sauvignon blanc and not something run through a focus group.

So, yes, the Pavette Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($13, purchased, 13%) is well worth recommending. It’s not quite as one-note as the 2021 was, which was mostly white grapefruit. Yes, there is lots of that this time around, but there is also an almost tropical something or other in the middle. Which, of course, is a sign of quality sauvignon blanc made in this style. It’s also crisp and fresh, without any cloying sweet fruit.

The Pavette would be better at $10, but it’s certainly worthwhile at $13 (and I may be a bit too cranky on this point). And it might even get rounder with another year in bottle.

This is the kind of wine to keep on hand as the holidays arrive, in case someone wants a glass of white wine, or to drink with a takeout chicken, a la Jacques Pepin.

Wine of the week: La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021

La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc bottle
La Petite Perriere Sauvignon Blanc 2021/$10-$17

Want to fix the wine glut? Make more wines like this

The most important thing to know about this French white wine? This line from my tasting notes: “This is the kind of wine we need more of to bring people to wine drinking.”

The 2021 is is the fifth vintage of this wine to be a wine of the week, which speaks to its consistency and quality. It’s also famous – or infamous, as the case may be – as the wine my mom tried to buy at a Kroger subsidiary in Chicago because I was told it was for sale there. Which, of course, it wasn’t.

So, the details for the 2021 ($10, purchased, 12.5%): It’s a terrific weeknight sauvignon blanc – well-made, simple but not stupid, and neither too fruity nor too tart. That means a bit of mineral and stone, some citrus (more lime than anything else), and fresh and clean. In other words, what the wine business is trying to achieve by buying hard seltzer companies instead of trusting to wine.

If it’s not quite as impressive as some of the others (the 2016, the one my mom looked for, was exceptional), it’s still well worth drinking and a Hall of Fame quality wine. Chill this and drink it on its own, or pair it with something like roast pork loin or takeout chicken.

Imported by Taub Family Selections

Wine of the week: MAN Sauvignon Blanc 2022

MAN Sauvignon Blanc bottle
MAN Sauvignon Blanc 2022/$7-$15

Once again, South Africa’s MAN delivers quality and value

During last week’s podcast with Greg Doody of Vineyard Brands, he spoke glowingly of South Africa’s MAN wines. And why not, given the quality of this white? (Or most of the other MANs, for that matter.)

The MAN Sauvignon Blanc 2022 ($10, purchased, 13%) is neither New Zealand, French, or California in style. So no head-smacking grapefruit, no long stony finish, no aromas of freshly cut grass. Rather, it’s terroir driven — a little softer and more tropical than French or California. That means a not quite pineapple fruitiness but enough lime for balance. And, of course, crisp enough to be sauvignon blanc.

The 11 percent semillion in the blend makes it richer than I expected – who expects a $10 sauvignon blanc to offer more than one note? Plus, there’s a bit of a complex mouth feel, which is also not common in a wine at this price.

Highly recommended, and certain to return to the Hall of Fame next year. Pair this with any summer salad or grilled fish. And, frankly, it’s just the thing to keep chilled and drink when you’re ready for a glass of white wine.

Imported by Vineyard Brands

Mini-reviews 164: The woe to availability edition – and just in time for Christmas

empty grocery store shelves
“The WC wasn’t kidding — nary a bottle to be found.”

Reviews of wines that don’t need their own post, but are worth noting for one reason or another. Look for it on the fourth Friday of each month. This month, four interesting wines, but good luck finding three of them (two of which I bought).

• Vins El Cep Xarello 2020 ($12, purchased, 11.5%): This Spanish white is made with a cava grape, xarello. From my tasting notes: “Surprisingly amazing,” given that xarello doesn’t often make quality still wine. But there is structure, lemon and a bit of apple fruit, and quite clean. Limited availability. by Fine Estates from Spain

• El Tuerto Tempranillo Blanco 2021 ($18, purchased, 13%): This Spanish white, made with the red tempranillo grape, is a floral, almost pretty wine, with a blend of tropical and citrus fruits. Impeccably balanced. Highly recommended, if you can find any. Imported by Classic Wines

• Satellite Sauvignon Blanc 2020 ($13, purchased, 13%) I still don’t understand why we’re still hearing that there isn’t any New Zealand sauvignon blanc; this is an older past vintage and it’s still for sale. The wine sits midway between the always fine Spy Valley (which makes it) and all those supermarket Bay wines. So less overtly grapefruit, but still citrusy, but a little softer and more tropical in the middle. Imported by Broadbent Wines

• Gillmore Mariposa 2020 ($14, sample, 14%): Rich and full red blend (half cabernet franc, and the rest merlot and syrah) from Chile. So dark fruit, refined tannins and surprising acidity. Too much syrah for my taste but well made. And, of course, not much for sale in the U.S. Imported by Global Vineyard Importers

Photo: “Empty grocery store shelves in Austin during the 2021 Texas energy crisis” by Jno.skinner is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Wine of the week: Les Deux Moulins 2020

Les Deux Moulins wine label
Les Deux Moulins 2020/$10-$18

Yes, sauvignon blanc from France’s Loire can cost less than $15

One of the great joys  of wine is tasting sauvignon blanc from the Loire in France for the first time. Even these days, when most sauvignon blanc takes after New Zealand, there’s still something deliciously different in a Loire wine.

The catch, of course, is price (and yes, I’m as tired of writing that as you are of reading it). These are everyday wines in France, where paying less than $7 a bottle is common. But the same wines can cost $15 or more in the states.

Which brings us to the Les Deux Moulins 2020 ($17, purchased, 12%). Why is a $17 wine the wine of the week? Because it costs as little as $10 in some parts of the country, and I’m not going to pass up the chance to review a top-notch Loire because a Dallas retailer wanted extra margin.

The Les Deux Moulins is a well-made Loire sauvignon blanc with a little more citrus fruit and a little less flintiness than I expected. Having said that, it’s professional and quite drinkable, and doesn’t taste of grapefruit. There is some lemon zest and an enjoyable, almost pithy quality, on the end. It’s not big and powerful, but it’s not supposed to be.

This is seafood wine – simple grilled fish (even fried catfish) as well as chicken breasts marinated with lemon juice, olive oil, herbs, and garlic.

Imported by Paris Wine Company

Wine of the week: Rickshaw Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Rickshaw sauvignon blanc
Rickshaw Sauvignon Blanc 2021/$9-$18

The California white remains a stunning wine – both for quality and value

The Wine Curmudgeon stumbled on the Rickshaw last fall, when I picked up a previous vintage at a Dallas retailer that was closing it out. It turned out to be was one of the best stumbles I’ve made in a while.

Rickshaw, for lack of a better term, is the second label for, again for lack of a better term, a hipster brand called Banshee (which is owned by one of the less big Big Wine companies). It wasn’t seen much at retail before the pandemic, but started showing up on store shelves in the past couple of years as restaurants cut back.

Which, again, is our good fortune. The 2021 Rickshaw ($15, purchased, 13.5%) is one of the best wines at this price that I’ve tasted in years. There’s nothing halfway about it, no shortcuts to lower quality and increase margins, no dumbing down to bamboozle the consumer. This is classic California sauvignon blanc, the kind of wine that made the state famous in the first place.

It has subtlety – never easy in sauvignon blanc – as well as depth and length, and even a sort of complexity – again, not easy in this kind of wine at this price. Look for lemongrass and lime zest and lots of stoniness.

Highly recommended, and certain to make the Hall of Fame next year and the shortlist for the 2022 Cheap Wine of the Year. Which is the catch – price is all over the place. It costs $16 on wine.com and as much as $18 elsewhere; my local retailer sold out of the $12 past vintage in a couple of days.

But find the Rickshaw for $15 or less (and it’s out there at that price), and it’s easily the best value California white you’re going to taste this year.

Wine of the week: Ant Moore Sauvignon Blanc 2021

Ant Moore sauvingon blanc bottle
Ant Moore Sauvignon Blanc 2021/$10-$17

So far, New Zealand’s sauvignon blanc Armageddon seems to be less Armageddon-y than thought

There are certain things you can count on hearing all the time in the wine business – each harvest, despite challenges, is going to produce an excellent vintage, for example, or that bad weather will cause devastating shortages and higher prices in a region’s wine production.

And no, I have never been able to figure out why they aren’t mutually exclusive conditions. But that’s wine for you.

I mention this to note that the Ant Moore is the third New Zealand sauvignon blanc to appear as a wine of the week since forecasts of the New Zealand sauvignon blanc Armageddon last fall. So maybe, just maybe, the devastating shortages weren’t quite so devastating?

The Ant Moore 2021 ($10, purchased, 12.5%) is the kind of wine that represents the strength of the country’s production: Professional, varietally correct, and a step up from supermarket quality. There isn’t too much grapefruit, the finish is almost minerally, and something that sort of resembles tropical fruit in the middle – always a sign of a well-crafted Kiwi sauvignon blanc.

And all for $10. No wonder this is exactly the kind of kind of wine that if you like, you buy a case.

Imported by USA Wine West